So, in only a few short weeks, October 17th to be exact, I'll be unleashing Beat of the Heart on the world. 

When you met him in Music of the Heart, you knew that AJ loved to dance. So here he is with Mia on their first date trying to teach her how to do the Rumba, even though she's a little dance challenged. 

As he moved, my eyes honed in on the flourishing movements of his hips. With his blazer off, I could see his back muscles flexing through his shirt. Moist heat burned between my legs at the way the rhythm moved so effortlessly through every inch of him. My mind couldn’t help wandering to what those hips and shoulders might feel like moving above me, my hands running up and down his corded back muscles as he thrust in and out of me….

AJ’s voice brought me out of my fantasy. “Got it?”

“What?”

He laughed. “Come on, Mia. This is the easiest part I could show you without blowing your mind with the complications.”

“It wouldn’t take much.”

“Let’s try it together.” Once again, he took the remote out of his pocket. He scanned through several songs. When a sultry, Latin beat came from the speakers, he shoved the remote back into his pocket. He then slid his arm around my back while the other went to clasp my hand. He waited for the music to pick up at the right place. 

“Slow. Quick, quick, slow,” he instructed, his breath fanning across my cheek.

While the rhythm rippled easily through AJ’s body, I wasn’t quite getting the upper body flow or the swishing of the hips.

“Keep your frame locked, don’t slouch.”

I rolled my eyes. “Jesus, I feel like I stepped into Dirty Dancing.”

AJ laughed. “I don’t think I’ve ever been likened to Patrick Swayze, but hey, I’ll take it. The man had some serious moves.”

When I caught my reflection in the mirror, I tensed up. “AJ, I can’t do this. I’m completely robotic compared to you!”

“No, you’re not.”

“I tried to tell you before that I just don’t have it in me.” I dropped my arms from his shoulder and started to stalk off, but AJ tightened his grip on my hand before whirling me back against him.

“Yes, you do have it in you, Mia. And I’m going to show you.” He turned me to face the mirror before sliding behind me. His hands came to rest on my shoulders. “First of all, you’re way too tense. You need to loosen up. You have to let the music flow through you.” His deft fingers began massaging my neck and shoulders. His dark eyes locked on mine. “That’s it. Let the tension go. It’s only you and me here. No one is judging you.”

“But you—”

He shook his head. “You’re the one doubting yourself, not me.”

AJ’s fingers slid down, teasing along my clavicle. I felt the muscles in my neck and shoulders go limp. My eyelids started fluttering closed as he continued massaging me. “Mia, when will you get it through your thick, stubborn, Sicilian skull that your body is made for dancing…and for fucking.”

I popped my eyes open to stare open mouthed at his reflection. He winked at me. “Now for the lower half.” His hands slid down the side of my body, slightly catching the sides of my breasts, before coming to grip my hips. His hands rose up and down on my flesh, causing my hips to roll forward and backward. “That’s right.”

When he eased up on his grip, I kept up the same pace of undulating my hips. “Very nice.” He met my gaze in the mirror and grinned. “See, you don’t suck.” Keeping his eyes locked on mine, he slid his hands slowly back up my torso. My breath hitched when they paused above my ribs to tease the underside of my boobs. Surveying my reaction, he then splayed out his fingers to fully cup my breasts.

I raised my brows at him. “And when did groping second base get added to the rumba?” I questioned breathlessly.

His head dipped to nuzzle my neck. “It’s all part of my rumba.”

“I see.”

“Do you like it?” he asked, as his thumb and forefinger pebbled my nipple under the dress’s fabric.

“It’s not bad.”

“Hmm, ‘not bad’? That’s not exactly good, is it? Guess I better work on my moves.” His right hand released my breast and trailed down my side before coming to rest between my legs. “Think I might be able to sell you on third base better?”

A shudder rippled over me as he cupped and stroked me over my dress. Even through the fabric, I could feel the heat of his fingers. “Pretty good.”

“That’s what I like to hear.” When his hand left me, I moaned at the loss of sensation. In a flash, AJ was tugging at my hemline. My eyes widened when I watched his hand trail up my bare thigh.

Trying to steady my erratic heartbeat I sucked in a breath when his hand delved into my panties. “AJ—”

“Don’t fight it. Just feel.”

His fingers stroked my clit, causing me to whimper. My gaze darted over to the door, fearing that at any moment the instructor was going to walk in on us. As if he could read my mind, AJ said, “Don’t think about her. Just think about what my fingers feel like against your warm, wet pussy.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but AJ silenced me by sliding two fingers deep inside me. “Oh God,” I murmured. My eyes locked on AJ’s hooded gaze in the mirror. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t tear myself away from looking at what he was doing to me.

“Do you like watching me touch you?”

“Yes,” I panted.

“I like watching you react to me—the way your eyes widen, the way your chest rises and falls, the way your hips move.” He dipped his head to where his breath burned fiery against my ear. “I can’t wait until it’s my dick, not my fingers, that’s inside you.”

With my first male induced orgasm in six months within reach, I no longer cared that we were standing in a public place or that AJ had a thing for dirty talk unlike any of my other lovers. All I cared about in that moment was getting off. My arms went behind me to grasp onto his hips that were moving against my ass. 

“Mmm, I’m close. Make me come, AJ,” I commanded. 

So between coming home from Vegas, getting a heinous stomach bug, and then proceeding to come don with some truly heinous viral consumption that took a steroid shot and a week of antibiotics to conquer, I'm finally back to Teaser Tuesday! 

Beat of the Heart has a release date as well--October 17th--my late mother's birthday. 

Today's scene is where AJ and Mia meet for the first time. To recap, Mia is a cardiac nurse at St. Joseph's, and the guys, minus Jake and Brayden, have come to see Frank. 

As Frank went to work devouring a chili dog, Rhys jumped up on the ledge in front of the window, swinging his legs back and forth, while I plopped down into the heinously uncomfortable chair next to Frank’s bed.  We were just shooting the shit on all that had happened while he had been gone when the door swung open. Immediately, I got a swift kick in the pants of the most delicious kind. A tall, dark-haired, dark-eyed goddess of a nurse strode into the room. Through her standard blue scrubs, I detected she possessed every attribute that gave me instant wood—wide, curvy hips, thick thighs, a voluptuous ass, and a full, natural rack.

“Oh shit!” Frank exclaimed. His panicked gaze swept right and then left as if he were trying to think of a speedy getaway. I couldn’t imagine from the way his Angel of Mercy nurse looked, not to mention her genuinely caring expression, that she could possibly be worthy of such fear. He was acting like she was Nurse Ratched out of One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest or something. 

She only smiled at his reaction. “Now Mr. Patterson, that’s not your usual greeting. You’re always so happy to see me.”

“I can see why,” Rhys muttered under his breath.

“No shit,” I replied.

“Er, uh…I’m sorry, Mia.” Frank gave her a reassuring smile. “I promise I’m very grateful for the care you have been giving me.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Her gaze flicked over to Rhys and me. “You must be Frank’s grandsons. He said you were coming in from out of town.”

Frank chuckled. “Actually, those knuckleheads are my bosses.”

Mia’s dark brows popped up at his summation. “Really?”

With a nod, Frank said, “Yep, that’s AJ Resendiz and Rhys McGowan.” He gazed over at us. “Boys, this is the most amazing nurse any man could ever hope for, Mia Martinelli.”

“You’re such a flatterer, Mr. Patterson,” Mia replied, before giving Rhys and me a wave. “Oh wait, now I remember. You’re the guys my nursing partner was telling me about. The ones in the band.”

Pursing my lips into my signature smirk, I replied, “Well, we’re not just in any band. We’re in Runaway Train. We were nominated for Best New Artist at the Grammy’s last year.”

“I’m sorry, but I hadn’t heard of you before,” she replied, appearing genuinely apologetic.

Ouch. That statement was a different kick in the pants. I couldn’t remember the last time a chick hadn’t instantly recognized us or at least been utterly star-struck by being in our presence. I leaned forward in my chair. “Maybe you’ll give us a listen?”

She smiled. “Of course I will. It’s not every day I come into contact with a Grammy nominated band.”

“Thank you,” Rhys replied, giving Mia his own seductive smile. I fought the urge to knock it off his face.

“Maybe you could sign something for me?” she suggested.

My gaze honed in on her breasts, and I knew exactly where I wanted to sign. “Sure, I’d love to.”

Mia cleared her throat, and I snapped my gaze to hers. The expression on her face told me she knew exactly where my one track mind had gone. “Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of you bringing me a signed CD or—” Mia sniffed the air suspiciously. Her dark eyes bulged at the sight of the opened Varsity containers in front of Frank. “Mr. Patterson, please tell me that just three days after you underwent triple bypass that I am hallucinating the artery clogging food in front of you?”

Frank’s face turned the color of an overripe tomato at her admonishment. “Maybe,” he replied weakly.

Crossing her arms over her ample cleavage, Mia shook her head back and forth so fast I figured she would get whiplash. “How many times have we been over your diet since you were discharged from ICU?”

Cowering a little, Frank replied, “Several.”

“I’m so disappointed in you,” Mia admonished. Her wrathful gaze turned on Rhys and me. “Since this food didn’t materialize out of thin air, I suppose you two are to blame?”

“We just wanted to bring him his favorite food,” Rhys replied.

Mia’s eyes narrowed. “He just had by-pass surgery! He can’t eat stuff like this.”

I shrugged. “We didn’t know that.”

“Did you leave your brains in your guitar case?”

“I play the drums,” I corrected.

“Whatever,” Mia snapped. She grabbed Frank’s box of chili dogs and fries and slammed them into the trash. “I suppose you would think it was a good idea to take a bottle of champagne to someone just discharged from rehab, huh?” She started to swipe the drink off as well, but it bounced off the trash can lid and landed straight into my lap. Busting on impact, the ice cold orange soda coated my crotch, stinging like tiny daggers over my skin. “Fuck!” I shouted, leaping to my feet.

“Oh my God, I’m sorry,” Mia apologized.

What happened next could only be expressed as something out of a warped fantasy. With a wad of napkins in hand, Mia dropped to her knees before me—my dick eye-level with her gorgeous face. She began furiously toweling off the front of my jeans. It took all of two seconds for the visual, along with her ministrations, to have me at half-mast.

“Umm,” I began.

“Sorry, but this will stain if we don’t get it off.”

When I dared glancing over at Rhys, his hand covered mouth, smothering the laughter that caused his whole body to shake. Frank wore an expression of amused horror. Okay, so Florence Nightingale couldn’t take a hint. I guess I was going to have to make it as plain as I could. Leaning over, I whispered into Mia’s ear. “Carino, if you don’t stop with the rubdown, you’re going to make another mess to clean up. Inside my pants.”

She jerked her head up and stared into my eyes. I watched as the realization of my words, along with what she had been doing, washed over her. My breath hitched as waited for the usual signs of extreme mortification to follow—reddened cheeks, stammering speech, avoiding making eye contact. All the things that would make it easy for me to move in for the kill and have her in my bed by midnight. 

But I got none of those.

Instead, Mia rose up and smacked the soggy napkins against my chest. As I fumbled to grasp them, she replied, “I’m so terribly sorry. I don’t know what came over me.” She then proceeded to give me a sickeningly, sweet smile—one that reminded me of Abby right before she gave one us a verbal smack-down. When she edged closer to me, I knew I was in for it and then some. She cocked one brown brow. “How terribly embarrassing and inconvenient it must be for you to have such a sensitivity problem down there. I mean, chicks expect a night of passion with Mr. Latin Lover, and they get mere seconds.” She made a tisking sound in the back of her throat. “Pity.”

My mouth gaped open, and instead of a witty, maybe even scathing, come-back, I could only open and close it like a dying fish out of water. I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been rendered completely speechless by a female outside of my mother and abuela.

Mia eyed me one final time before turning to Frank. “Mr. Patterson, I’ll be back to check on you on the hour,” she replied before quickly side-stepping me and stomping out the room.

When the door closed behind her, Rhys and Frank howled with laugher. “Holy shit, dude! I can’t believe what she just said to you!” Rhys exclaimed, wiping the tears from his eyes.

I stared momentarily at the closed door before a smile spread across my cheeks. “Now that, gentlemen, is the future Mrs. Resendiz, right there.”

“Yes sir,” came the mumbled reply before the door was shut tight behind us.

Once our bodies had adjusted on the bench seat, AJ crushed his mouth against mine, thrusting his warm tongue into my mouth. He tasted sweet like the chocolate and wine we’d just consumed, and I couldn’t help the moan that escaped me as our tongues intertwined. With one hand cupping my ass, AJ brought his other to my breast, slipping through the satin of my bodice to cup my naked flesh.

As much as I hated to, I jerked away from him. Our gazes locked, and I’m sure mine mirrored AJ’s lust-filled one. It took me a full minute to find my voice. Even AJ’s broad chest heaved up and down from our passionate lip-lock. “We should go to my house.”

“Nuh-uh,” AJ grunted, his hand kneading my breast harder.

“But you’ll need to drop me off at my place anyway,” I argued, trying to ignore the heat pooling below my waist at his actions.

AJ shook his head. “Mine’s closer. And I don’t wanna waste any time getting back buried deep inside you.”

His words stoked the fire burning within me. I couldn’t believe just thirty minutes ago we’d been slow dancing at my family’s restaurant. Now we were mauling each other like sex-starved deviants. Of course, it was that damn chocolate mousse that had turned dessert into foreplay between the dancing and the limo.

As his thumb flicked over my pebbled nipple, his other hand snaked up my dress to find my already damp center. When one finger slid inside my panties, I involuntarily thrust my hips up. Although I wanted nothing more than to be with him again, I smacked my palm against his chest, pushing him away. “Oh no, just a minute, big boy.”

AJ's chuckle scorched against my neck as he nudged his erection against my exposed thigh.  “Why thank you very much for the compliment.”

“I’m serious.” Grabbing the sweat-soaked strands of his hair, I jerked his head up to meet my gaze. “You’ve already had me once in this limo tonight. What kind of girl do you take me for?”

A wicked gleam burned in AJ’s dark eyes. “The kind who gets off on satisfying her man.”

I quirked a brow at him. “Oh, but you’re not mine, Mr. Latin Lover.”

“I’ve had you, Mia. So you’re mine for the night.”

Shaking my head, I scooted away to where I was on the opposite bench seat. AJ shot me a predatory glare, reiterating the fact he wasn't accustomed to females not giving into him. “Quit playing fucking games,” he growled.

“I said no.”

“Yeah, well, I call your bluff since I can smell how fucking aroused you are right now. Not to mention, you’re practically soaking the seat.”

He leaned over to grab me, but I nailed him in the chest with my stiletto heeled foot, thrusting him back against the leather seat. His gaze dipped from mine to my pump and then he snorted. “Are your ‘come fuck me heels’ really supposed to deter me?”

When I shrugged, he dropped his head. Never breaking eye contact with me, he then ran his tongue over the strap slowly before taking it between his teeth and jerking. The wet leather smacked against my foot, and I shivered at his actions, causing him to wink at me. “These heels just want me to throw you on your back and pound you even hard as they dig into my ass.”

Standing my ground, I crossed my arms over my chest. “Baby, your little machismo act may work for some helpless bimbos, but I’ve got strong Italian blood pumping through me. I fuck when I want to.” I flashed him a defiant look. “And right now, you’re not having me in this limo.”

We stared each other down in a silent battle of wills. AJ eyed me so intently that I could almost see the wheels turning in his head like he was sure at any moment I would relent and let him take me on all fours like he had earlier. In a firm voice, I said, “Not. Happening.”

Keeping my foot firmly against his pectoral, I inched the hem of my dress further up my thighs. His nostrils flared at the sight. “Don’t fucking tease me, Mia!”

I gave him a sweet smile. “I’m not teasing you, babe. Just giving you a preview for later.”

An agonized groan escaped his lips as his hand went to the bulge in his pants. With his gaze still locked on mine, he rubbed the length. “Mia….” His voice had taken on an almost pleading tone.

My mouth ran dry at the image before me, and I licked my lips. “You want me that bad?”

“Fuck yes.”

“Show me,” I commanded, nodding towards his crotch. 

Maudie linked her arm through mine. “Now speaking of romance, do I have a surprise for you!”

            I wrinkled my nose as we strolled down an aisle. “You know I hate surprises.”

            “Fine then. Guess what hunky blast from your past just finished his tour in the Army and is back home?”                       

            I froze right in front of a display of Miss Maudie’s Apple Crisps. An overwhelming wave of nausea crashed over me. Oh no. Please tell me no. This couldn’t be happening. The glaring mistake from my past couldn’t be coming front and center in my life again.  

            Maudie grabbed my hand in hers. “Lane, you look positively green. Don’t tell me you’re not happy at the thought of seeing Maddox again?”

Oh God, she had said his name. My past had come back to haunt me in the worst possible way—trapped for the summer with the guy I hated most in the world. I guess hated really wasn’t a strong enough word—loathed and despised probably came closer to how I truly felt about Maddox Diaz.

I’d known him since I was seven, and he was ten. His dad had gotten killed in some Special Ops mission in the Army, sending his already fragile mom into full alcoholism. It wasn’t long before she lost custody of him and his older sister. With all of Maddox’s father’s family in Puerto Rico and his mother’s family unwilling to take them, they pinged around to several different foster homes until Maudie took them in, just like she had my dad. But since Maddox was ten and his sister, Neely, was twelve, they were never adopted. Instead, they just stayed with Maudie. Although she and her husband would have formally adopted them, Maddox’s mother had been institutionalized and labeled incapable of being of sound mind for signing legal documents like adoption papers.

We played together during the summers and holidays, but he always managed to do something mean that had me in tears almost everyday. But just before I would go running to my parents or Maudie to tattle on him, he’d wrap me in a big bear hug and give me the sweetest, most charming apology anyone could ever hope for. I’d totally forget I’d ever been mad at him—until the next time he upset me.

By the time we were teenagers, he’d mastered that charm to woo all the girls within a hundred mile radius….except for me. Well, I guess that’s not entirely fair since he had more than charmed me.

“Lane, are you all right?” Maudie questioned, bringing me out of my daze.

 “Oh, sorry. I guess I just zoned out a minute.”

She gave me a sympathetic smile. “I know how upsetting what happened to Maddox is. Why, when I think of the lousy care he got in that Army hospital and how it led to that horrible Staph infection, I get so bitter and sad. It’s just not fair how he ended up being medically discharged from service when he had all those dreams of rising up the ranks and traveling the world.” She was then interrupted by the voice of her secretary screeching over the intercom. “Maudie, you’re needed in receiving. That’s Maudie to receiving.”

She huffed in exasperation. “I do so hate interruptions!” Before she turned to go, she said, “Don’t move a muscle. I’ll be right back.”

I nodded. As I watched her retreating form, my mind frantically spun with excuses to get out of working at Maudie’s this summer. I could probably still teach a class at my dance studio’s summer camp. Of course, anything from picking up trash on the highway to scrubbing toilets would be better than having to be around Maddox for any length of time.

The stress of the news sent my stomach rumbling into overdrive. Ignoring Maudie’s request for me to stay put, I started toward Eula and the fried pies. I knew nothing would get my mind off of Maddox quite like an apple pie. As I power walked down an aisle, I smiled and spoke to a few regular customers. But then an all too familiar voice sent me screeching to a halt.

I ducked behind a towering display of Peach Fuzz tea. When I was satisfied he wasn’t any closer, I craned my neck around the bottles. My heart rattled a little at the sight of him. It had been three years since I’d seen him last. Now he was twenty-two—a real man. If it was even possible, he was even more good-looking than I remembered. Maybe, he was more built than I last remembered. His biceps strained against the Miss Maudie’s Homebrew t-shirt he wore, not to mention you couldn’t miss the outline of his chiseled six pack abs. He had inherited his jet-black hair and naturally tan skin from his Puerto Rican father, and his crystal blue eyes from his mom. Of course, his dark hair was still buzzed short from his recent Army days.

The sound of footsteps caused me to jump out of my skin. I whirled around to find Drew staring at me over his glasses. With his furrowed brows and pinched lips, I guess it wasn’t everyday he caught someone hiding out behind processed peach juice.

“Oh, um, hi,” I said, ducking my head.

“Maudie asked me to tell you she’s gotten tied up but to go ahead and keep working on that jams and jellies display.”

“Sure, of course,” I replied to Drew’s feet.

He cleared his throat. “She just told me to tell you that. It’s not like I’m trying to be your boss or anything.”

I jerked my head up. “Oh no, it’s fine. Really.”

Drew gave a dreamy, dimply smile before shouting past me. “Hey Maddox!” I cringed as I waited for his response.

            “Yeah?”

            “Grab those green boxes inside the storeroom and bring them over to Aisle Three for Lane."

“Will do!”

Drew nodded. “Okay, well, I guess I’ll see you later.”

“Bye,” I said, giving him a brief wave as he hurried off.

I started the sad pilgrimage over to Aisle Three, sickened with the realization that there was no escaping Maddox now. Heaving a sigh, I dug back into the box and started shoving multicolored bottles of jam on the shelf.

The sound of his footsteps behind me caused my breath to hitch. I was still holding it when Maddox placed a box bulging with jam at my feet. I turned around, and our eyes locked. The corners of his lips twitched, and I didn’t know if he was trying to grin or was fighting the urge to say something deeply profound about our reunion. Of course, there was the giant pink elephant loping about the room, and that was our past. I’m sure he was trying to gauge whether I was going to go psycho bitch and maim him, or let it slide. I decide to take the higher road rather than bringing him to his knees with a swift kick to the balls.

 “Welcome home.”

Any hesitation quickly faded, and he plastered his signature cocky grin on his face. “Thanks, squirt!”

Inwardly, I groaned at him using my nickname of a vertically challenged kid. Any thoughts I had of trying to tolerate his arrogant and egotistical presence with poise and dignity quickly evaporated. I narrowed my eyes at him. “You know I hate when you call me that.”

“Sorry.” After his eyes roamed over me, he bobbed his head in appreciation. “Damn, Lane, I’d barely recognize you. You’ve gone and grown up on me.”

I clenched my fists at my sides. After everything that had happened between us, he had the audacity to focus on my appearance. He was so infuriating! With him being so arrogant, there was no way in hell I’d admit the nights I’d lay awake worrying about him while he away in Basic or when he was wounded and away in the hospital.

Instead of arguing that I’d been the same height, if not same barely B cup size the last time he saw me, I continued stacking jam. When I remained unresponsive, he cocked his head at me.  “So this is all you’ve got for your old buddy and esteemed serviceman?”

            “I told you welcome home, didn’t I?” I winced at the harshness of my words. Was I really being this cruel to him after all he had been through? After I shoved a jar of Apricot jam on the shelf, I turned back to him. “Did you really get shot in the buttocks like Forest Gump?”

            He chuckled. “No, that was just something I told Maudie so she wouldn’t worry so much.” He jerked the hem of his shirt up to show a scar just above the waistband of his jeans. “It came awfully close to nicking my kidney.”

            For a moment, our past was forgotten, and my heart swelled with sympathy for him. “I’m sorry you had to go through all that. I really am,” I murmured. Then my gaze focused on the way his jeans sat low on his hips, giving me a side view of his washboard abs. A shudder ripped through me as I remembered what those abs felt like against my hands…against my body. I shook my head free of my ridiculous thoughts and started shoving jars of jam on the shelf.

            We stood in awkward silence for a few seconds. Conversation had never been this strained between us—even when we were kids and were mad at each other about something. Maddox rubbed the stubble along his chin. “So…after all this time and everything that has passed, I’d hoped you weren’t going to hold a grudge.”

A jar of Muskedine jam slipped through my fingers and then smashed onto the ground. “A grudge? I was trying to be gracious and polite by trying to ignore what you did to me. I mean, what happened between us wasn’t like the time you ‘accidentally’ burned my hair as a kid!” As his serious expression turned to amusement, I changed courses as well and snapped, “I had to have four inches cut off! I barely could get it up into a bun for my recital!”

            “What can I say? I was a punk through and through. And you,” he leaned in closer to me, “were such a little princess.”

            I shoved him back. “I was not!”

            “Yes you were!” He grinned at me. “You never wanted to play outside and get dirty, go fishing, or do any of the things I wanted to do.”

            “Oh, is that why you’d put worms down my shirt and shove me into mud piles so you could get me to do what you wanted?”

            “Nah, that was just me being a prick,” he replied.

            “Your main character trait.” I started to bend over to clean up the broken jar when Maddox took my hand in his.

He gave me a sincerely apologetic smile. “Look, I really am sorry for what happened before.” His jaw clenched and unclenched. “I want more than anything in the world for us to have fun working together, like we did a few years ago. Do you think we can put the past between us and move on?”

I gazed down to where his fingers wrapped around my arm. Maddox touching me again made my skin crawl. But most of all, it was the fact he thought he could just brush what he had done under the rug so easily. I jerked my arm away and announced, “I’m taking my break.”

            “What about this mess?” Maddox asked, motioning to the broken jam.

            “You clean it up.” I then narrowed my eyes at him. “After the way you treated me a couple of years ago, I think you owe me a favor or two!”

            As he made a strangled noise, I whirled around and started for the refrigerated section. After I grabbed a bottle of my favorite Miss Maudie’s Apple Core cider, I slipped out the door and onto the back porch. Luckily, there were no customers eating outside with the heat, so I popped open my drink and eased down in one of the rocking chairs that overlooked a small stream. As the sweet flavor coated my throat, thoughts of that infamous 4^th of July crept into my mind, and for a moment, my stomach tightened so hard I thought I might throw up.